View to Woodland from the Columbia River shore at Dalton Lake (bobcat)

Bitter cherry (Prunus emarginata), Rutherford Parkway (bobcat)

Near the shore of Dalton Lake (bobcat)

The routes at the Dalton Lake Nature Preserve in St. Helens (bobcat) Courtesy: Google Maps

• Start point: Rutherford Parkway Trailhead
• End point: Dalton Lake
• Hike type: In and out with loop
• Distance: 2.7 miles
• Elevation gain: 120 feet
• High point: 135 feet
• Difficulty: Easy
• Seasons: All year
• Family Friendly: Yes
• Backpackable: No
• Crowded: No

Hike Description

Dalton Lake lies at the north end of the City of St. Helens, separated from the Columbia River by a narrow band of cottonwoods. The area was long neglected and is heavily infected with invasive plants like English ivy, Armenian blackberry, and reed canarygrass, as well as human litter. The creation of the Dalton Lake Nature Preserve in 2019 initiated efforts to control these pests and restore the area. For example, a weir was constructed at the outlet of Dalton Lake to adjust water levels and “drown” expanses of reed canarygrass to engineer suitable habitat for native wapato. In 2022, as part of a salmon recovery initiative, the full course of Harrie Creek was restored and the weir dismantled. From St. Helens, you can connect with the small trail system in the nature preserve via the Rutherford Parkway, a paved bike track.

The Rutherford Parkway, marked by a kiosk and sign, parallels the railroad tracks and Highway 30 and also serves as a pipeline corridor. On your right, there’s a mobile home neighborhood, while on your left a line of vegetation, including Oregon ash, alder, hawthorn, bitter cherry, and blackberry separates the bikeway from the railroad. Past the fenceline, you’ll enter a woodland of Douglas-fir, big-leaf maple, and western red-cedar. An unmarked trail on the right enters these woods.

Follow this trail into a forest infested with ivy but with plenty of native species in the understory. Trillium and violet will be blooming here in the spring. Bear left at a junction, and then take a trail leading right to a high basalt bluff overlooking Dalton Lake. In addition to scanning the forest cover for song birds, the lake hosts Canada geese, mallards, wood ducks, scaups, shovelers, pied-billed grebes, and cormorants.

Continue on the forest loop and descend the bluff, where you’ll find a trail leading right to the lake shore. The trail then loops up to a utility corridor which supports a growths of thimbleberry, waterleaf, and nettles. A longer spur trail takes you down to the water’s edge again. Here you might be able to spot a beaver lodge – these large rodents are very active in the area. Return to the utility corridor, and soon reach the Rutherford Parkway, which takes you up to a kiosk, a water tower, and the end of 4th Street in Columbia City.

Just past the kiosk, take the gravel road track down past a gate. Cottonwoods rustle overhead as the track bends right to cross Harrie Creek on a 65-foot boxcar bridge installed in late 2022 (the bridge replaced a culvert that impeded salmon movement). You can see the extent of the "nativizing" improvements to the course of the creek. Where Harrie Creek exits Dalton lake, there's a large beaver dam that keep water levels high. A bench looks out over a wide sweep of the Columbia River. The shipping channel here is known as the St. Helens Range, and you might observe a large freighter slipping by. Beyond the main channel are the cottonwood forested islands of the St. Helens Bar. On the opposite shore, you’ll see riverside homes near Woodland, Washington, with the Lewis River valley cleaving the hills beyond. As you continue, bullfrogs in the shallows will chirp and splash underwater. At some point you will either reach private land or water inundating the trail, so turn around.

You can walk back to your vehicle along the Rutherford Parkway. The path crosses a red osier dogwood/skunk-cabbage bog and then rises up a bluff, with a huge rectangular face of licorice fern-draped basalt looming to your right. You’ll see that work has begun on killing the ivy here. At the top of the rise is a grassy area with a couple of benches. Keep going until you reach the parking area.

Fees, Regulations, etc.

• Open sunrise to sunset
• Dogs on leash
• Respect private property

Maps

• Maps: Hike Finder
• Dalton Lake Nature Preserve (City of St. Helens)
• City of St. Helens Parks & Trails (City of St. Helens)

Trip Reports

• Search Trip Reports for Dalton Lake Hike

Related Discussions / Q&A

• Search Trail Q&A for Dalton Lake Hike

Guidebooks that cover this hike

• none

More Links

• Dalton Lake Nature Preserve (City of St. Helens)
• Friends of Dalton Lake Nature Preserve
• Dalton Lake Nature Peserve Overview (Wild Columbia County)
• Dalton Lake Loop (All Trails)
• “Dalton Lake Nature Preserve an unexpected gem near St. Helens” (Columbia County Spotlight)
• “Dalton Lake: A community project” (The Chronicle)
• "It’s all for the salmon: Dalton Lake’s New Bridge" (Wild Columbia County)
• Columbia Botanical Gardens and Dalton Lake, St. Helens (Travel Oregon)

Contributors

• bobcat (creator)